The Ernst-Happel Stadium in Vienna, designed in 1931 by Otto Ernst Schweizer
The Ernst-Happel Stadium in Vienna is the biggest of the eight venues of the EURO 2008 in Austria and Switzerland, and with seven matches, including the final on 29th of June, the main site. Formally called "Praterstadium" it got built in 1931 together with an open air bath, designed by the architect Otto Ernst Schweizer. At that time it was considered as the most modern stadium, with a capacity of 60.000 visitors and an evacuation time of less than eight minutes. The last national match before Second World War was carried out on 3rd of April 1938, called "annexation match"; Austria won 2:0 against Germany. In September 1939 it served a completely different purpose: more than 1,000 Jewish men were held captive in the corridors of sector B, 1,038 of them were deported to the concentration camp Buchenwald, only 70 survived. A commemoration plaque reminds this atrocity since 2003.
The venue of the Euro 2008 final - additional tribunes are added to reach a capacity of 53,000 visitors
After war the Praterstadium got enlarged to the amount of 90,000 visitors, but during renovation in 1986 again scaled down to 50.000, receiving its 50 meters projecting elliptic roof and attached facilities, partly covering the elegant reinforced concrete skeleton of Schweizer. During EURO 2008 additional tribunes are added to reach a capacity of 53,000 visitors. The first match takes place on 8th of June: Austria versus Croatia. It's a pity that architects haven't been invited to redesign the stadium for the EURO 2008; prefab elements, like they are used for temporary fairs, are applied as additional media facilities, interview-loges, VIP areas and tribunes. All of those features, except the metro connection (finally finished for this event), are going to be removed afterwards - the reinforced concrete structure of 1931 remains unbeatable thus.
0 comment(s):
Post a Comment